Adrian Conway didn’t get into CrossFit to coach.
“I got into this sport to dominate other humans,” the CrossFit Seminar Staff Trainer says. “I wanted to pursue physical dominance; I wanted to be able to train hard and punish myself, and then go win and go be a champion.”
That’s what Conway — a five-time CrossFit Games athlete — had worked toward his entire life.
“Sports was the way I earned respect and became known to people,” says the 37-year-old, who was often the “new kid” while growing up.
It was both motivation to work hard and a “chip on my shoulder,” he continues, describing the pressure to prove his worth through athletic prowess.
And prove he did, attending Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, on a football scholarship. He was a running back — and a four-year starter.
But when injuries sidelined him for a significant portion of his tenure there, he felt like he’d lost his identity.
The lessons he learned from that time, Conway says, he applied to the next phase of his athletic journey as a competitive CrossFit athlete. Despite his incredibly successful career in the Sport of Fitness — he helped team Hack’s Pack Ute to back-to-back Affiliate Cup victories in 2012 and 2013 and team Wasatch CrossFit to a win in 2017 — he no longer defines himself by the things he does, but rather who he is.
It’s something Conway strives to teach the athletes he trains, whether their goals are to compete at the elite level or simply maintain a high quality of life.
“It’s cool to know that he’s been there and he knows how to get there, and that’s something he can prepare me for and help me get to that level,” says Rachel Noel, one of Conway’s athletes.
Today, Conway is a full-time coach — something he describes as “ironic,” given the original reason he started CrossFit.
“The community within this space, the hard work, the humility — all these things that I’ve had to grow in myself as I became an adult are what drew me to coaching,” he says. “Because people, when they walk into a CrossFit gym, they want something different for themselves; they want to be changed. And for me to help be the catalyst to that, to lead their journey, to help them make hard right choices over easy wrong choices … it was something that I never knew but would change me forever.”
The CrossFit Coach: Adrian Conway Has Nothing to Prove